Guacamole 2 ways


Guacamole 2 ways

Avocados often get a bad rap from low-fat advocates. While about 90% of avocados’ calories are from fat, it is almost all mono-unsaturated good fat. They also have many vitamins and minerals.

Guacamole, eaten in moderation, contains much less saturated fat than mayo, butter, cheese, or sour cream. Whole-grain pita chips make a good vehicle for this delicious appetizer.

You can customize the heat level by omitting the optional ingredients.

Ingredients

  • 4 ripe avocados, halved, scooped, and mashed, leaving some chunks
  • 1/2 medium tomato, seeded and diced
  • 1/4 medium red onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced, then mashed with kosher salt
  • 1 handful cilantro, chopped
  • Juice of 1/2 lime
  • Salt and pepper
  • Whole wheat pita
  • Fresh jalapeño, seeded and diced (optional)
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin per avocado used (optional)

Directions

  1. Mix in a bowl and season to taste. Add more of anything until you like. I have been told that leaving one of the pits in the bowl prevents the whole bowl from discoloring. I don't have a clue why that would work.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  3. Cut pita into wedges. Separate the tops and bottoms. (I learned that the hollow inside of the pita is created by baking the whole-wheat yeast dough at 700 degrees. It puffs up creating the pocket inside and then collapses when it cools.)
  4. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Arrange the wedges like a jigsaw puzzle.
  5. Spray the top with the non-fat cooking spray.
  6. Sprinkle with a little kosher salt. Bake until crispy.